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Key Traits for Working in Cybersecurity

One of the main goals that we have here at Cybersecurity Courses Online is to help people get over the idea that it is impossible to start a career in cybersecurity unless they have been hacking computers since they were teenagers. As we previously mentioned, you don’t necessary need to know how to code in order to get an entry level job in cybersecurity.

One key trait that helped the security professionals interviewed in the article is their natural curiosity in problem solving. Pieter VanIperan, a software security consultant, stated that he liked making systems do things that they shouldn’t be able to do. “Once you start down that path, you realize how startlingly vulnerable the internet is. And then you are hooked.”

Another key trait that was mentioned was the ability to collaborate with others and to be a part of a team. “The media often portrays security engineers and testers as self-taught tinkerers who only surface from dark recesses to collaborate and compete at hacker conferences,” said Gretchen Ruck, a cybersecurity consultant. “But security teams are composed of individuals in specialized roles, many of which demand different skill sets, background, and expertise.”

The ability and desire to constantly learn and keep up to date on new threats is another skill that is important to cybersecurity professionals. Ruck stated that she regularly “follow around 25 RSS feeds spanning news sources, security vendors, and personal blogs.”

The article concludes by reiterating the high demand that there for future cybersecurity professionals. “As reported by Gartner, there are currently more than 348,000 open security positions. By 2022, there will be 1.8 million unfilled positions.”